SEOUL, April 14 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-un has not been seen in public over the past two weeks, setting off speculation that he might be tempted to tone down fiery threats of provocations, according to sources and an analyst on Sunday.

Kim's absence from the public eye, judged by the North's choreographed media reports, was not unusual, but this month's disappearance from public view comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula as Pyongyang is expected to launch a mid-range ballistic missile.